In screening, what does specificity measure?

• A. Correct identification as impaired.
• B. Correct identification as typical.
• C. The rate of false negatives.
• D. Overall test score.

Answer: (B)

Specificity in screening is about correctly labeling people who do not have the condition as not impaired. It reflects the proportion of true negatives among those without impairment. A high specificity means few false positives—typical individuals aren’t misclassified as impaired. This is different from sensitivity, which measures how well the test identifies those who do have impairment (true positives). The rate of false negatives relates to sensitivity, and the overall test score isn’t a measure of specificity. So the best description is correct identification as typical.